Fad diets come and go, but the idea of dieting has been around since the days of Greeks and Romans. They sound wacky now, but when the weight just won’t melt off, desperate people take desperate measures. Click through the gallery and look at the craziest ways people have tried to trim the fat.
Just remember, a combination of diet and exercise (even small changes add up) is truly the best way to lose weight. Vinegar diet? No thanks.

Sources: Health.com, Woman's Day

Photo: (c) H F Davis

Fad diets come and go, but the idea of dieting has been around...

Fad diets come and go, but the idea of dieting has been around... Photo-5611869.76289 - SFGate

Image 2 of 15 | 1800s: Starvation or Hysteria

During the second half of the 19th century, a form of “Victorian anorexia” was all the rage among the middle class and aristocracy of Western Europe. People would literally starve themselves in order to live up to the Victorian notion of frailty, which was associated with spiritual purity and femininity.

During the second half of the 19th century, a form of “Victorian...

During the second half of the 19th century, a form of “Victorian... Photo-5611719.76289 - SFGate

Image 3 of 15 | 1820: The Vinegar Diet

The anorexic and bulimic poet Lord Byron popularized the vinegar diet in the 1820s. In order to cleanse his body he would drink plenty of vinegar and water daily.

This, perhaps, was the most desperate diet of them all: allow tapeworms into one's digestive system in the fervent hope that they would digest the food and thus, one could eat without fear of gaining weight.

This, perhaps, was the most desperate diet of them all: allow...

This, perhaps, was the most desperate diet of them all: allow... Photo-5612069.76289 - SFGate

Image 5 of 15 | 1925: Cigarette Diet

An advertising campaign began this diet. Created by Albert Lasker for Lucky Strike cigarettes, "Reach for a Lucky" was aimed especially at women, and cited nicotine's alleged weight-loss properties to make it more acceptable for women to smoke their product.

Photo: Blank Archives, Getty Images

An advertising campaign began this diet. Created by Albert Lasker...

An advertising campaign began this diet. Created by Albert Lasker... Photo-4418084.76289 - SFGate

Image 6 of 15 | Early 1930s: Slimming Soap

Wash away fat in the shower? Though it sounds too good to be true, slimming soaps had women rushing for the bathtub in the 1930s. Despite their grandiose claims, these soaps had no magical fat-blasting contents: They were essentially hand soaps made with potassium chloride and other basic ingredients.

Wash away fat in the shower? Though it sounds too good to be true,...

Wash away fat in the shower? Though it sounds too good to be true,... Photo-5611721.76289 - SFGate

Image 7 of 15 | 1930s: The Grapefruit Diet

The popular low-cal plan calls for eating grapefruit with every meal. This diet claims that grapefruit burns fat, but grapefruit can interact with medication, so beware.

The popular low-cal plan calls for eating grapefruit with every...

The popular low-cal plan calls for eating grapefruit with every... Photo-5611794.76289 - SFGate

Image 8 of 15 | 1950s: The Cabbage Soup Diet

This leafy diet promises you can lose 10 to 15 pounds in a week by eating a limited diet including cabbage soup every day.

Photo: 2011 AFP

This leafy diet promises you can lose 10 to 15 pounds in a week by...

This leafy diet promises you can lose 10 to 15 pounds in a week by... Photo-5611803.76289 - SFGate

Image 9 of 15 | 1963: Weight Watchers

Is an international company founded by Jean Nidetch, a self-described "overweight housewife obsessed with cookies."

Is an international company founded by Jean Nidetch, a...

Is an international company founded by Jean Nidetch, a... Photo-5611868.76289 - SFGate

Image 10 of 15 | 1970: The Sleeping Beauty Diet

This approach is simply to sleep as much as possible, even if it involves sedation, this diet is rumored to have been tried by Elvis. The emphasis is the more you sleep the less you eat.

This approach is simply to sleep as much as possible, even if it...

This approach is simply to sleep as much as possible, even if it... Photo-5611858.76289 - SFGate

Image 11 of 15 | 1980s-2000s: Breatharian Diet

One diet requires you give up everything. That’s right—you’re supposed to subsist on air alone. Breatharians believe that when humans find the purest sense of harmony with the world, they no longer require food, water or sleep.

Some people eat them dry, while others soak them in gelatin. Because they’re so filling, they’re said to satiate you so you won’t want to eat fattening foods. While cotton balls are high in fiber, unfortunately it’s not the kind of fiber humans need.

Some people eat them dry, while others soak them in gelatin....

Some people eat them dry, while others soak them in gelatin.... Photo-5611776.76289 - SFGate

Image 15 of 15 | 2004: Diet drugs ban

The FDA bans the sale of diet drugs and supplements containing ephedra after it's linked to heart attacks.